8 out of 10 Mixes are improved by Turning Down the Drums

I’m so guilty of this. I love drums and always mix them too loud. It’s a weird emotional connection type of thing. My brain just wants to hear that snare crack and kick thumb, loud..…it’s such a regular thing that I actually tell that to clients lol…I give them a friendly a warning that if the drums are too loud don’t sweat it because I always make that mistake. It’s kinda funny actually because the number one mix revision I get is “the drums sound great, but kinda loud, no?”

Its like Goldilox when it's right, though...

The breakout Bonnie Raitt record stood out as a real turning point of “why are the drums so freakin’ loud?!” You’d hear it in a restaurant/etc and it was vocals and drums. Probably seems low these days! I’m frequently having the convo about how mastering is gonna make the drums louder and brighter, do a pseudo-mastering pass as example and people usually calm down. Long term high volume mixing will definitely get the drums too loud, if you’re inclined to be that way.

But popular music is the vocal with a toe-tapping beat. Timeless formula that works from the Beatles to Dua Lipa. Without regards to the mix, if you don’t have “rhythm & melody” only your Mom will be listening.

“Love in the nick of time” awesome.

Track count makes it effortless for drums to be hyper detailed (ultra multed and gridded as well). Technology has always influenced and informed music production/writing so I appreciate what it has done for drums and recordings, but I have a hard time listening to it sometimes. Being greatly influenced and centered by 70s dead room close mics and early 80s fusion production, I buy alot of CDs and always look for original releases, non re-mastered. They are a stark reference from where we are today, both good and bad.

As a culture we have naturally grown accustomed to, and gradually accepted, the slow rise of ultra hyped production of modern music. I don't mind that, and I think all generations are intimately connected to the music of their time (and it's production values) and that is an important thing. I have to be diligent when I write to keep the vision clear and keep references at hand or I will start to over-produce to match, which changes translation, for me anyway.

Fact is, it isn't easy to turn the clock back when producing. Not unless you use the technology of the day. 80s pop is likely an exception.

It’s been on my mind, I think we may be near the end of this era.

First it was the desktop PC speakers playing 128 MP3. You needed all samples and tuning, and as much loudness as possible for the crappy amp/speakers

iTunes quietly updated everything to 256 Mp3. That was like 2012 or so? Also any used car now will have decent stereos and subs. The population has slowly been exposed to real music without it sounding like a grinding machine. People started buying vinyl.

I can see where the next step, could possibly be, 70’s HiFi with actual power amps.

Those original mixes assumed your stereo either sounded like a TV speaker, or was a bad ass HiFi beast. We need that big power hungry 3 or 4 way stereo, with graphic EQ, to understand the original masters.

There’s a character we no longer experience, but we could again. Maybe 🤣

 You can blame Mutt Lange for loud drums, it all changed in 1980 when Back In Black was released and the kick was at least 3dB louder than on rock record prior. As heavier styles of music became more popular, loud drums tamed the guitars enough for records to be radio friendly, but still sound powerful. The introduction of subwoofers both live and at home basically created a monster that won't die. Changes in technology contributed as well, starting with 24 track and beyond, more tracks meant more close mic's, mixing on SSL's meant a gate & comp for each mic. Then capturing other instruments had to change to fit in with the drums, guitar mics went right against the grill where in the past they were further back. Fast forwarding to today, where loudness is a driving factor in production,this  involves using samples and compressing every channel, or even limiting, and this leaves a lack of space and dynamics, transients are destroyed which effects definition, this means you can't just turn the drums down because  the sounds don't work  at lower level, everything would have to be recorded differently to do that, and that might not work for everyone. You see threads about classic records like RStone's Brown Sugar, 3 mics & one of those was on the hats; LZ When the Levee Breaks 4 mic's AFAIK; ZZ Tops' La Grange, listen to that loud on big speakers, sounds amazing, guitars are loud here. These records were made on 8 or 16 track. before common use of noise gates and channel compressors, the transients are maintained but as soon as you try and make that loud for todays standards, its just gonna fall apart. Basically I don't think you can have it both ways if you're trying to be commercial. I used to start a mix with the drums and it was always a struggle to get  a balance, now I start with the vocal and its easier, I think once you hear loud drums while mixing, turning them down never sounds as good, start lower and turn up as needed, I avoid the solo button unless there's a problem, that can confuse your ears. This has worked so far, but i don't make commercial records

I feel it's an esthetic choice, song to song.
Sure, Back in Black has loud drums but so does Fleetwood Mac at times.
It's found in most decades starting in the 70s.
Sometimes it really works, sometimes it's a crutch.

And in the nick of time.

musically minimalist too, definitely designed around the drums and vocals.